Do You Have The Right Supplies For Success?
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Jul 20, 2011
Back in 2001, when I decided I was going to work for myself, I decided I needed to stock up on supplies.
I drove to the office supply store and started buying things I felt that every office needed; stapler, pencils, tape, pens, packs of paper to print on and pads to write on, and many other things. I also purchased something to put all that stuff in because I knew all of it wasn't going to fit in my desk drawer.
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Yesterday I needed something and went to the drawer where I'd put all that stuff. I looked at the tape and the pencils and the paper clips all much of the other stuff that I've never used, still sitting there in packs, some of it, like the pens, useless to me now.
The problem was my perception of business at the time. I based it on what I had as an employee. However, when I thought about it, the only thing I was always replacing was pens, and that was because I kept leaving them all over the place, not because they'd run out. The type of pen I use now is way different than all those Bic pens I bought back in 2001; I didn't even like those pens back then.
Many of us set ourselves up for what we perceive we need rather than figuring out what we really need. This goes for supplies across the board, and in this instance I'm also thinking about employees in a supply mode. Something that makes a person a great leader is being able to evaluate just what's needed to get the job done. For instance, I also had a desk calculator back in 2001 that I never used because I always used Excel. That was a waste of money and if I'd paid attention to myself I'd have remembered that I didn't even use a calculator at my previous job.
The same can be said for employees. In today's world having someone that can type 50 words a minute is pretty much meaningless, yet it's still a standard people use in evaluating employees. I haven't used a typewriter in almost 15 years; what will that tell me? Most people do things on a computer, and I don't know anyone with "typing" skills that can't type at least 75 words a minute on a keyboard; I've been close to 150 words a minute but my skills seem to be diminishing some; sigh...
The evaluation of talent has to be for the right reasons, just as you need the right supplies for success. We don't look at a resume, see spelling mistakes, and dismiss that person as not having intelligence. We look at a resume, see spelling mistakes, and realize this isn't a person who pays attention to detail. Now, if this person is working in a factory spelling might not count; otherwise, it's a big deal.
Almost every industry has changed in 10 years. This means the people I talk to in many instances see things much different than their counterparts from back in the day. In some areas the processes I use now are the same I've always used and those things still work. In other areas I've realized that I need to step up to the plate, update my technology and competence, and be prepared to engage someone in a new way. This is why I finally got a smartphone and why I've recently added Skype, although I still haven't used it yet.
Are you making sure you're using the right "supplies" for what you do, or using them in the right way to progress in your business?
Recently I was reading an article, which was quite interesting, it is title “What have disappeared from office”. Actually many thing, type writers, white boards, I was a bit surprised that that most companies do not have fax machines anymore. I also thing that every industry is changing rapidly, especially nowadays, the basics are the same but supporting details are much different compared to 10 years ago.
It is an ever changing world, Carl. Remember the plastic sheets for overhead projectors? I have a lot of those things that I need to throw away because we can all make powerpoint now. I don’t have a fax machine because I can turn anything into a pdf file and so can everyone else. Just amazing the changes that have taken place in 10 years.
I am wondering when paper will disappear, had to travel abroad few days ago, travel by bus, got mad about bureaucracy. Filling same information in documents so many times, completely meaningless, as they already track the passport with computer.
Carl, I know some people think paper’s going away but I think if it does it’ll take at least another 50 to 100 years. We love paper; we love holding it in our hands and it just feels to real. And sometimes government agencies won’t accept anything except paper, and we both know how long it takes government to change.
It’s kinda fun to look back at my first business in 2001 (yeah, 2001 as well, talk about coincidence) and the kind of supplies we needed back then. We committed the same mistakes, but now we became fairly smarter. If we need something, we go buy it, in very limited quantities ’cause we realize that 1. we’ll end up losing it 2. we’ll end up not using it.
The only real thing that’s become essential, and that’s not guaranteed at all, is a quality internet connection. I realize this is something many people take for granted because when we had serious problems with it some days ago, for nearly 3 days, it was hell on earth, and a kinda embarrassing situation as well with clients and such.
I don’t see myself panicking as much if I suddenly run out of pens or paper.
Gabriele, I don’t panic if I run out of anything since it’s so easy to replace, but I’m with you on that internet connection, and my computer as well. Computers are still a pricey investment even if the price has come down because since I’m a power user I need to make sure I have all that I really need. It’s amazing how business changed for me and became more about my computer access than about people in a way.